Unfinished Business
by CatChester
Summary: A continuation from The Ex-Files. Jo had it out with the real Zane by mistake but did that make her hallucination go away? I don't think so. One Shot


As Jo tore the envelope open her hands were trembling from the implications of what she had just done. Whatever was in this envelope, she prayed it was enough to distract her.

"You didn't honestly think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?"

Jo jumped and turned to Zane. "Go away," she told the hallucination through clenched teeth.

"Sorry, that's not my call. I can't go away until you've resolved your issues with me."

"I just said everything I have to say."

Zane stepped closer and perched on the edge of her desk. He looked into her eyes and Jo felt helpless to look away.

"Except we both know it's not true. Maybe you have been romanticising our relationship, we were never a hearts and flowers kind of couple. But we did fit, Jo Jo, and you know it. I was the fire to your ice, you were the ying to my yang. You didn't have to hide who you were to be accepted with me, in fact the more kick-ass you were, the hotter I found you."

"You aren't the only person who finds me attractive," she snapped.

"I know, but I was the only one who didn't want you to dress up to impress me. In fact I found you hotter in your sweats than anything else, as I believe I proved to you on many occasions," he leaned in close, studying her face. She remembered that look, that was the look he had when he wanted her.

"That's physical attraction," she looked down, blushing. "If you have a twisted attraction to powerful women that is not my-"

"But that's a good thing, because you are a powerful woman."

"But there's more to a relationship than physical attraction."

"True, like enjoying the same hobbies. Who else do you know would enjoy taking you potholing and to the ballet?"

Jo frowned. "That's not the point."

"Sure it is, we made a good team. Neither of us were perfect but we made it work because we loved each other."

"We did not make it work. We were always fighting."

"And having make-up sex, I distinctly remember that you enjoyed that part. Besides, we weren't always fighting. We were just passionate and sometimes passion flares into anger."

"If we were meant to be, I wouldn't have hesitated," she said, referring to his proposal.

"Jo," he said kindly as he sat back. "You just got scared. Callister abandoned you, Taggart ran off, Ian left you for the Corp. I know you always thought I looked down on you and it was just a matter of time before I left you for someone who was my equal in the brains department."

"How did you know that?"

"Because I'm not real; I know every deep and dark though you have. I'm not your enemy here, Jo Jo. I'm trying to help you and I'm here to tell you that you _were_ my equal, in every way that counts." he smiled warmly at her. "You know my dating history, you know that before you, three months was my longest relationship. Do you honestly believe that if I had the slightest doubt about us, I would have proposed?"

Jo sighed as her anger finally abated. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing. I'm a figment if your imagination, remember?"

"So why are you here?"

"So you can finally get the courage to take your destiny into your own hands and stop sitting around waiting for things to happen."

"I did! I told you to get lost."

"But you know that's not what you really want."

"So what do I want?"

"You want me."

"But you're not here any more. And I miss you." Tears were shining in her eyes and Zane reached out and cupped her cheek.

"I'm still here. The Zane that's here, he isn't all that different from me."

"He's rude and arrogant and insensitive and juvenile and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," he held his hands up in defeat. "Don't you remember how I was when we first met?"

"You were an jackass too."

Zane laughed. "That's right, I was. I changed because you gave me a reason to want to change. This Zane never got that chance."

"He's a criminal."

"Stop making excuses, so was I. And don't you remember how you met Zoe? She'd been impersonating a flight attendant, that's not exactly a childish prank, is it?"

Jo shook her head. "I don't know what you want from me?"

"I want you to be honest with yourself. You still love me and you still want him," he pointed to the door that the real Zane had left through.

"I can't just-"

"Jo, he's already figured it out by now."

Jo turned ashen. "No."

"Yeah. Throwing an engagement ring at him was a pretty big clue, even if he wasn't a genius."

Jo put her elbows on the table and buried her head in her hands. "No."

"Man up, Lupo, it's too late to be second guessing yourself now."

"What if he did steal the DED?"

"You don't believe that, it's not his style, or mine. Now open that envelope and go save his ass."

"Okay." Jo took a deep breath and pulled the contents from the envelope. She wasn't looking forward to facing Zane but it had to be done. She did like him and she did want to see if they could have a relationship in this time line. She just needed to suck it up and make it happen.

"Thank yo-" She turned to Zane only to find he was gone.

If it was possible, hallucination-Zane had been even more annoying that the real thing, but even so she had looked forward to seeing him, despite it wrong-footing her.

"Bye," she said sadly to her office before turning back to the envelope.

"One last thing."

She jumped and turned to the other side of her chair where halucination-Zane was now standing.

"What?" she barked, upset that he'd surprised her once again.

Zane leaned forward and rested his hands on the arms of her chair so their faces were inches apart. Slowly he leaned in closer and Jo closed her eyes. When his lips met hers they were exactly as she remembered them, warm and dry.

It felt like forever since she'd been kissed and now that it was happening again, she was amazed to realise she'd forgotten so much about kissing Zane. How her stomach filled with butterflies, how his stubble scrapped her chin and how, even when she didn't want them to, she found her arms snaking themselves possessively around his neck, holding him close to her.

When the kiss ended she opened her eyes and saw the satisfied smile on his lips that she remembered so well.

"Just a little incentive," he said as he began to fade.

"No," Jo held him tighter but her hands slipped through him as he disappeared. As she touched her lips she realised she could still feel the stubble burn and she wondered how a hallucination could feel so real.

She felt like she'd lost him all over again and her heart sank until she saw the envelope still sitting on her desk. No, she realised, she hadn't lost him. The real Zane, of a version of him anyway, was still here. And right now, he needed her help.

III

AN: Sorry guys. Thank you for all the reviews, but this was always intended to be a one shot which fits nicely in between the episodes (and in my mind is cannon, unless they find a way to piss all over my dreams in episode 9).

** IF** (and you'll notice thats a big if) the next episode does leave us hope, I may continue it with another episode tag or possibly a fic series to help tide me over to the second half of the season but as of now, this is complete.


End file.
